The problem with doing what's "best" for the truck is that if you took that literally, you'd never haul more than a couple passengers and a bag of feed in it. You certainly don't want to intentionally harm the truck, but the bottom line is it's a machine that you bought to do a job. Even if you treat it like an old lady's car, it probably wont' last you 30 years. Heck, in 30 years you may not be able to buy unleaded gasoline to run it, the way things in DC are going these days.

Get the brake controller on it, get a load-distributing hitch and have it adjusted properly by someone who knows what they're doing, check tires and fluids before every trip. Buy a US Rider membership because no matter how careful you are, shit will happen. Then hitch up, load up, and go enjoy.